10.4: Mariota's average gain per rushing attempt this season while rushing for 426 yards.

The reservation

West Virginia quarterback Geno Smithwas the Heisman Trophy front-runner at this point last season, and he did not finish among the top 10 in the Heisman voting.

Supposition No. 2

The Ducks' offense is just as explosive with offensive coordinator Scott Frostcalling the plays this season instead of former head coach Chip Kelly.

The numbers

56.8: Oregon's average points per game this season, second in the country and more than the Ducks averaged in any of the six years Kelly ran the Oregon offense.

Sept. 14: The date of the most recent rushing attempt by De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon's most explosive offensive player, who injured his ankle on the opening kickoff against Cal on Sept. 28. Nonetheless, Oregon averaged 693 yards in its past two games. Thomas might return for Saturday's game against Washington State.

17.2: Average yards per completion this year for Mariota, who is throwing more downfield passes than he did last year, when he averaged 11.6 yards per completion.

3: Washington's national rank in passing defense before Mariota and Oregon riddled the Huskies for 366 passing yards.

1: Nebraska's final national ranking in the 1997 coaches poll when Frost was the Huskers' quarterback. Much like Mariota, Frost was a dual-threat quarterback who rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a senior. Frost outplayed Peyton Manningwhen Nebraska beat No. 3 Tennessee 42-17 in the Orange Bowl after the 1997 season.

The reservation

Frost is following the blueprint created by Kelly. Let's see how Frost fares in a tight game or in future years when the Kelly influence fades.

SUPPOSITION NO. 3

Oregon's defense is underrated and finally is good enough to make the Ducks a formidable opponent for Alabama in a national-championship game.

The numbers

4.24: Yards per play yielded by Oregon's defense, which is sixth best in the country and considerably better than the 4.81 yards per play allowed by the Tide.

13.8: Points allowed per game by Oregon, which is sixth best in the country and not far behind the 11.3 allowed by Alabama.

The Reservation

Washington is the only decent team Oregon has faced this season. Alabama has played Texas A&M, Virginia Tech and Mississippi. Games against UCLA, Stanford, Utah and Oregon State await Oregon.

KEEP AN EYE ON

A name you might hear as the NFL draft draws near is Jimmy Garoppolo.

No, he's not in the Heisman discussion, but that's because he plays for Eastern Illinois, an FCS school that produced Tony Romo.

At 6-foot-3, 222 pounds, Garoppolo has thrown 28 touchdown passes, the most of any Division I player, with only four interceptions.

He threw six TD passes in Eastern Illinois' only loss this season, a 43-39 defeat against Northern Illinois, which is ranked No. 23 this week.

Garoppolo is projected as a mid-round NFL draft pick, but could move up, much like Joe Flacco, who became a first-round pick after a big senior year at Delaware, an FCS school.